Public Festival of Wishes | Eshan Winter Solstice

[Kal]

Noelle Varanin | Alicio Organa | August Oreno | Current Body - Anric Ferevin Vae​

"More terrifying than grand, if I am honest." Procuring a wine glass from a nearby servant, Kal sipped the beverage thoughtfully, seeming to relish the poshness and civilisation more than the drink itself.

"Oh, a few a year. Depends on how many good opportunities I sniff out!" That was most definitely a lie, but he was not an easy man to read. 'Vae' himself may well spend most of his time on Eshan, but Kal himself spent far more time elsewhere than here. Expeditions and journeys beyond number - and long stretches of time spent in his secluded residence.

Noelle would likely be surprised if she learned how long he spent at home; given the timeless nature of the Netherworld, a three days here might well be a month there. Or more. Time was flexible indeed in the depths of the Inkwell.

Speaking of, she predictably drifted towards her boy-toy, presumably to apologise.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio turned briefly to Noelle Varanin as she said her goodbye. "Of course," he declared, offering a small bow of respect. The nobleman followed her trajectory to August Oreno across the room, quickly picking up on the context.

He supposed even Queens needed to find their joy.

He turned his attention back to Lord Vae, giving the Echani a nervous smile. "If you ever require someone to sponsor one of your adventures, feel free to let me know. I've recently come into a bit of money."

"Or, if you need someone vastly under-qualified to tag along, I suppose I can fill that role as well." He chuckled to himself, obviously not expecting an affirmative response.

"What sorts of opportunities do you look for?"

- Kal -

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd's heart broke at seeing Starlin Rand like this. Zabka however, had a grim look to him.

"C'mon, Starlin, let's get you out of here..." Zabka said.

"I learned how to cook, finally..." Syd admitted.

"He needs a Corellian Alarm Bell..." Zabka noted.

Syd turned. "What's a Corellian Alarm Bell?"

"Two thirds super hot sauce, one third super sour lemon juice, two dashes of chilli peppers and one dash of club soda." Zabka explained.

"Are we trying to get him alert or disintegrate his stomach and possibly his lower intestines?" Syd asked.

"Ah, that won't disintegrate his lower intestines..." Zabka disagreed.

"What about his stomach?" Syd asked.

"Hey, you gotta take some risks..." Zabka countered.

"He needs a hot meal and shower..." Syd replied.

"Do not doubt the power of the Corellian Alarm Bell." Zabka insisted.

(Cutaway of Doc Brown screaming from the consumption of Wake-Up Juice)

"Your ship or mine?" Syd asked.

"Yours..." Zabka replied.

They led Starlin through the crowds back to Syd's Star Courier. She got out a folding table and chairs to sit and then began using her powers to heat water in a kettle for coffee.

"Alright, Starlin, you wanna go big? How's this for big?" Zabka said, pulling out a Mini Holo-Projector., Which displayed a strange looking Star Destroyer.

"A ship like this was spotted operating in the Unknown regions a few days ago. My plan is to infiltrate it...with all of us aboard. I wanna figure out how Xiphos operates on the inside.

"Xiphos is constantly keeping her forces as mobile as possible. Trying to look for every rat hole to scurry into." Syd explained as she made coffee. "She's started to make bio-variants of her Nuetralizers."

"I fought one. It claimed it was Xiphos's version of a Protocol Droid. Damn thing nearly broke my spine." Zabka said in annoyance. "We use magic to disguise ourselves. There are a ton of refugees flocking to her now from what I can tell. People from Coruscant, Lao-Mon, basically everywhere the Maw and the Bryn screwed things up for people.

"It will be extremely dangerous. Xiphos's Anti-Force User and Counter-Espionage methods were effective even when I was with her. Who knows what they evolved into now?" Syd wondered, handing Starlin the coffee, sitting across from him. Zabka hesitantly took a seat also. He had been so busy keeping the Cult of The Brain Demon away from Jen that he had lost touch slightly with Starlin. He tried to call and write but the Cult was a nightmare he couldn't wake from. If Starlin only knew how close they had gotten to murdering Jen...

"The chance of discovery will be...high..." Zabka said. "But we need to know what we are dealing with, and fast... Xiphos has a definite goal in mind...beyond killing you, I mean."

"I'll never forgive myself for what aiding her led to..." Syd muttered under her breath. "It is clear to me now that Laertia always had ambition...but I couldn't see the depth of it then..."

"Whatever the case...it's an absolute tragedy she could not be swayed to more positive ends. Xiphos wants this fight with Jedi. She's bent on punishing them for not fighting the Bryn'adul. Torturing you mentally is just a bonus." Zabka elaborated, drinking a bottle of water.

Syd held back tears. She had brought so much ruin down on all their heads, not understanding what Laertia was until it was too late.

The horrible thing was, in spite of everything, Syd still loved her. But at this point, maybe killing Xiphos really was the only way to end her suffering.

It would break her if she had to be the one to end up doing it.

"We can't do what we are about to do for revenge. This is not about avenging the pain she has caused all of us on an individual level, but stopping her from causing it to others. Maybe Xiphos had a point about the Jedi. Maybe they really were their own worst enemy. But her inability to comprehend a Society's pride over survival, or the concept of moral integrity in the face of hardship, has caused her to view non militant society as too vulnerable and limiting, and making her rebel against it. She can't stand civilizations like the Alliance. She views them as completely corrupt and self serving, hiding behind the ideals of Democracy as an excuse to be inept and greedy. Whatever the case, the Refugees, especially in the Scar Worlds, are starting to listen to her more...." Syd said quietly, nursing her own coffee.

"My inability to understand society as it was also caused me to help her in the beginning. At the time it seemed so obvious..." Syd confessed...

 

[Jem Fossk]

Jem blinked and looked back down at Iris Arani , a brow raised skeptically as she considered the girl throughly for the first time.

"You're so weird," she remarked, and while the words were dismissive her tone was neutral and otherwise accepting, not unlike she was stating the weather or time of day.

She shoved the the last of her pastry in her mouth. She regretted the large bite immediately, but it had been something to do and now there was no going back.

She chew awkwardly around the hot mass, her breath puffing out into the cold night with each go.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"I know." Who hadn't called her weird at this point? It was a badge of pride for young Iris. She continued to munch on what was left of her own pastry. Thougb the second that was done Iris plopped down onto the snow, uncaring she was in the middle of the street, to pull free a blank cavas and some paint from the pack she always carried.

Well, two, actually. She offered one to Jem Fossk , smiling warmly. "You should paint too."

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin let them lead him away from the hotel to Syd's parked ship, keeping his head down. He was quiet even as he listened to their back-and-forth discussion on how to cure his hangover and sleeplessness. Syd ultimately won out, giving him some freshly made coffee. Starlin accepted it gratefully, warming his hands around the mug.

Zabka launched into an explanation of their next mission: the infiltration of a Star Destroyer. Starlin stayed silent, glad that his father at least was enthusiastic. He could sense Syd's pain leaking through their old master-apprentice bond. Pain that he had caused by revealing her secret, one that not even she had known.

Only when Zabka brought up revenge did Starlin finally speak. "I know," he muttered, one hand over his mouth and nose as he tried to warm his face with his breath. "It was never about revenge. I came to terms with all the shit that happened with the Elder Compact a long time ago. It was my fault that I chose her side. I just wish... I had killed her on Kerest. With the spell." His eyelids lowered. "Maybe Xiphos wishes that, too."

Regardless, he didn't think she would go down willingly. Not without a fight. "Let's hope this doesn't turn out to be our Mission to Myrkr," he said. A historical reference, hm? Professor Nimdok really had rubbed off on him.

"Xiphos... Laertia was always on the fringe, wasn't she? An outsider. A freak. She didn't even belong in this time, let alone in this society. I'm not surprised she doesn't understand it." Sipping his coffee, he sighed. "But you mean that she doesn't understand society, period. Wouldn't that mean she doesn't understand people? After all, that's all society is. Just people." Thinking about it some more, he added, "That does make sense, actually. Maybe that's why she surrounds herself with so many droids, or weirdos who have multiple personalities. She understands them like she doesn't understand people... or even just a single person. Eh, whatever. I'll infiltrate that Star Destroyer with you..."

Catching sight of something in the sky, he looked up. The aurora borealis was visible, like a spectral flag waving across the stars. Starlin blinked, staring at it. Even as he savored the beauty of the sight, he couldn't help but wonder if it was an omen of what was to come.

Syd Celsius​

 

[Spencer Varanin]

//: Ashin Cardé Varanin //:​

Spencer reached to catch Ashin as the dancers moved a little too close. Graceful, as she was, she was able to step out of the way and make her way towards Ashin. She smiled softly and offered her hand towards the woman. “You can never take me away from anything. If anything it was taking me away from you.”

She laughed again, “I’ll keep that in mind, I feel like most of our enemies are dead for the most part. What ever happened to that large man that was always venging for revenge or something of the sort with you?” Spencer thought hard about the numerous enemies they had gained over the years, none that specifically stuck out to her.

“Ahh.” She groaned, “I wish Anaya was still around, I’d like to see her tormented by the Drengir.” ​

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

"You know," said Ashin after a long moment, "I can't recall his name. Hell, after this long I barely remember much about Anaya. Did she die?"

She took out a little bottle of Echo perfume that she'd purchased from Ishani Dinn 's Alkemia shop, and sprayed a little in the breeze.

"It's alchemical — helps with memory. I dislike forgetting things as much as I do."

Spencer Varanin

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula snorted, a little surprised at the sudden display of affection. Dagon was usually a little more private with those, but hey, she wasn't complaining. Zeltrons were a touch-driven species and Yula was not an exception.

"Always the charmer, Dagon Kaze." She patted the side of his face with a wry smile of her own, half-turning in the embrace to peck the Jedi on his cheek. The babbling she didn't think too hard about, figuring that his inexperience with children made the concept of purchasing a gift for one awkward. Never did she think that Dagon himself was…contemplating parenthood. A legacy. A family.

She fully turned now, hands resting on his shoulders. It felt good to be embraced by him, and the light nature of their trip reassured her that their relationship was still working.

Hopefully, Auteme wouldn't give him both an ugly sweater and an incriminating story…

She cleared her throat, shaking the image of a shocked young politician from her head as they sat awkwardly at a tiny University of Denon café table.

"I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

"For food, I mean."

Dagon Kaze

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

As the memory-enhancing Alkemia perfume settled in, Ashin's eyes went wide. It wasn't Anaya that she remembered, though. It was a certain night in a thunderstorm, at a rooftop apartment on Nar Shaddaa, with glitterstim and — at the time — her apprentice Spencer Varanin . That must have been, oh, going on thirty years ago. Thirty-five? Feth.

She whispered the memory her wife very, very quietly, and so still that the falling snow caught on her eyelashes. The nearby dancers' motions registered in a way they hadn't before.

Suddenly, social events didn't seem particularly interesting.

 

[Jem Fossk]

Jem cast the girl a helpless look. “You can’t- this a— where’d you pull canvas from?” She exclaimed, aghast.

Her bag, obviously, but—

Bodies swirled around them, snowflakes kissing her lashes as Jem stood, not accepting the second canvas. What the hell.

Something in her bit back her usual bitter comments, Iris’s unusual nature leaving her… stumped.

Iris Arani Valery Noble

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris blinked, turning her gaze to the canvas in her hands. She can't? A frown settled on her lips as she put the art supplies away. "I know tagging buildings is illegal but regular painting is too?" The Padawan was full on pouting at this point. All she wanted to do was paint but people had reasons for her not to. It's 'illegal' to spray paint the side of someone else's building. 'Illegal' to take over a street to paint on a large canvas.

Supplies away and bag slung over her shoulder she huffed.

"Ah well. I can paint elsewhere then." And just like that the momentary pout was gone. She smiled warm, watching Jem Fossk for a moment.

"Are you sure you're okay? Your colors have been off all night."

 

[Sasmay Cull]

Lake of Tears- Transitioning to the town​

Accompanied by: Myunna
Wearing: Outfit
Tag: Valery Noble | Yula Perl | Dagon Kaze

Myunna seemed overjoyed at the mention of people being to busy with other things as Sasmay chuckled, nodding for her to come along.

"I wonder if enough food." Myunna thought openly to the pair as they walked. Causing the brunette to laugh.

"We'll get more back on the ship. Don't eat up the entire stock. Think of it like a snack." She remarked, a smile slowly waning as she watched Valery walk on.

Entering town, Sasmay patted Myunna on the head before making sure she understood some basic rules. Not that she needed to inform her of them, but merely reminded her out of habit. The question from Valery piqued her interest in the sights and sounds, letting her nose guide her a bit.

The smell of something warm and sweet was found first.

"Only one thing that aromatic. Something to drink first. Got a sweet tooth demanding attention." Sasmay informed her, rubbing her hands together as she looked to Valery before nodding to the hot chocolate booth.

"Not want chocolate. Water." Myunna whined as Sasmay turned to her and nodded.

"Yes, I know. I don't want you throwing up in the hallways again because you stuffed twenty pounds in one sitting." The woman informed her before saving a spot for them in line.

"Not out here by yourself, right?" Sasmay finally felt it appropriate to ask Valery about her traveling as the line shifted forward and Myunna secured them a table by laying to one side.

 

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

His attention stayed on the buffet for a brief moment longer.

Finally with drink in hand August shifted towards Noelle.

"Well, your invitation was so pleasant, I couldn't help myself, my Queen." He murmured gently as he sipped from his champagne and gave Noelle a once-over. Appreciative expression? Certainly, but still guarded in its own way. "You look splendid as always. But then again, I suppose the occasion requires nothing but the best of you, yes?"

For a moment his attention was diverted to the rest of the hall.

It certainly looked perfect.

As if Eshan hadn't been through hell and back just some years ago. An illusion? In a way, but August thought it was a necessary one. At the very least the people ought to feel like their lives had a chance of returning back to normal.

Once they believed?

The rest could follow suit.

"Thank you for the invitation, Noelle." He murmured a bit more quietly. "I wasn't sure if you would after..." Leaving that hanging rather awkwardly.

 

[Kal]

Alicio Organa | Current Body - Anric Ferevin Vae​

"A man after my own heart, I see." ... and yet Kal was unlikely to take him up on his offer if possible. Only rarely did he actually stick with Vae's body during 'his adventures' - why risk a body perfectly adapted to the court when he could instead take a more expendable one, or perhaps an especially durable specimen?

Humming thoughtfully, Vae pulled a small blue crystal from his pocket, the sample glowing lightly - and pulsing in a slow, predictable pattern in ways only detectable by the Force Sensitive. Its purpose was unclear, however.

"I seek out the unknown, especially the mystical. Tangible items, preferably." Vae tended to collect such items, or so they said. It made for a decent source of new information for Kal himself - he was quite interested in phenomena too, but Vae possessing a significant understanding of the nonmaterial would likely stretch believability.

 

[Dagon Kaze]

FESTIVAL OF WISHES
STAY AWAKE WITH ME vol. II
Issue #1 w/ bae Yula Perl

"Always the charmer, Dagon Kaze." a cocky smirk couldn't help but slide over his lips. Embracing her, diving into her emerald eyes, here, away from the ever-troubled city of Denon was the best gift for Life Day he could receive. It felt like a, you know, hot shower after a week in the mud and cold. It felt like home. A moment like this, so trivial to the outsider's eyes, was like finding the gold at the end of the rainbow.

"I'm hungry. Are you hungry?" the smirk became suggestive.

"For food, I mean."

Ah, okay. Later then.

"Yeah, sure, let's grab a bite but fist... hold on--" he pulled her away from the vendor back to the bustling streets and raised his holophone up, "Don't say anything. Just smile." snap. snap.snap.snap.snap.snap.

"I wanna remember you without the wrinkles is all." he jested, sliding the phone back inside his jacket's pocket. It's an innocent quip but it carries the deepest wishes of his heart.
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Make a Wish​

Location: Eshan | Lake of tears​

Valery: Appearance​

Pregnancy: Middle of 3rd trimester​

Tag: Sasmay Cull Iris Arani Jem Fossk ​

​

Hot chocolate, huh?​

​

Valery smiled faintly and followed Sasmay to the booth. She wasn't sure if the woman had noticed her staring at it earlier, or if she genuinely loved it herself. But she wasn't going to question it — she was happy to have something remind her of just fond memories, and took the cup into her hands rather happily.​

​

A brief interaction followed between Sasmay and Myunna but it was the question that caused Valery to blink.​

​

"Not out here by yourself, right?"​

​

"I uh, did travel here alone," she admitted. "But it's alr-"​

​

Valery suddenly stopped as her eyes caught something familiar. Or rather, two young Padawans who were supposed to still be on Denon as well. It was a little ironic, but she wasn't thinking about that right now.​

​

"One moment..." Valery muttered as she walked over towards Iris Arani and Jem Fossk .​

​

"What are you two doing here?" She asked, not angrily but with more of a surprised tone of voice.​

​

​

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd paused at Starlin's questions.

"If she didn't understand people, she could never have gotten this far. She could never have convinced me to help her if she didn't understand me at least a little..." Syd clarified to Starlin Rand

"She could never have drawn anybody to her cause, let alone someone who was one of her worst enemies. Society and people are two very different things. A society is a construct, given life by those who inhabit it. But people...people are emotions, intellect, flesh, and hardship. Laertia is incredibly literate in all of those, I think. Nar Shaddaa's streets taught her all about people. But she learned the lessons of the street too well. And you gotta remember, she grew up often being exposed to people at their worst. The groups that organized, that treated their members the best, that dealt with their opponents the swiftest, that seized opportunity, were the groups that prospered the most and lasted the longest. Which is why she can't understand why societies like the Alliance form...and why they would risk destruction rather than survive alongside their antithesis. To Laertia, gangs teaming up to survive is a perfectly natural, logical solution to survive larger threats. She doesn't view factions themselves as anything but larger, highly organized and well equipped versions of the various criminal gangs she lived with and often fought against as a child. And the way some factions, even the legit ones, have conducted themselves...as of late, I...I could almost see why she would view them in that light."

Syd's head lowered a bit.

"Laertia's education as a child was the Education of Crime, for both Profit and Survival. Even when she tries to actually, sincerely help people, her logic is that of a Criminal in her approach..."

Syd sighed. "It's no excuse, obviously, not for either of us. Laertia's actions are horrifying, and so are mine. But you are right to an extent, Starlin... Laertia does understand that which is unnatural much better than most do...but just not as much as she understands people in general. It's why Jedi have grown to frustrate her: they don't think like normal people most times. The training does not truly allow for it. Even your perceptions have altered, even if you don't recognize it as such."

"I've been re tracing some of her actions. She moved very deliberately for someone who is supposedly so unhinged..." Zabka noted. "Before she even dared to test her soldiers against the Lobsters she tested them on an already experienced, organized infantry force in the NIO at Generis, knowing the Nuetralizers that survived would pick up on and adapt to the tactics of their opponents...which were then applied at Dubrava when they engaged the Lobsters for the first time. Laertia continually tested her troops in increasingly complicated situations, in increments. It was never random. I'm even getting the feeling she was looking for something..."

"You got that feeling too, huh?" Syd confessed.

Zabka nodded. "The fact you seemed to know what I'm talking about yet know little otherwise suggests Laertia was hiding something from even you. But T'sid, I gotta ask...how did you miss all the red flags?"

Syd's head lowered more.

"Because I wasn't looking for them..." Syd answered. "I never told anyone this...but I was the one who activated the first two Nuetralizers Laertia ever deployed...

Syd decided to open her mind to the other two, letting them watch a memory of hers...

 

[Starlin Rand]

The conversation inevitably turned to the subject of Xiphos, who seemed to fascinate them all. As Syd's memory replay finished, Starlin took a deep breath.

"Syd..." he began, then sighed. He pitied her, but his pity would get them nowhere. Still, he felt bad. He always felt bad when it came to Syd, wondering if his expectations for her were too high, whether he made too many demands of her and didn't show enough sympathy for her position. He was just... scared. Afraid of what might happen if they never finished this. Part of him wondered whether Syd would get in the way of his mission. It was clear she still cared deeply about Xiphos...

"We, uh... well... It's really cold out here." He gestured around them. The snows were starting to pick up, the wind blowing harder and the air growing colder. The corners of his mouth curled upwards in a small smile. "Can we go inside your ship? Maybe head someplace warmer?"

As he spoke, he thought of Jerrilek, the resort world full of white sand and clear blue seas. The world where he, at the age of thirteen, had first met Professor Nimdok, who would eventually lead him to Syd and the path of the Jedi. Did he think of Jerrilek only because it was a tropical planet, or because some part of him longed to go back to comparatively simpler times, when his only enemies were thieves and street thugs?

He didn't know the answer.

Syd Celsius​

 

[Yula Perl]

The holophone came out, one handed, raised to a certain angle…and Yula smiled on reflex. Rested her head against Dagon's shoulder too, with one hand on his chest. It was easier for Yula to slip into the mindset of having a normal life, even if things were as far from normal as you could get—so it was nice to see Dagon able to do the same, even if just for the night.

It made sense if she thought about it. His life was dedicated to fighting the Dark, and though she'd taken up arms against the Sith as well, Yula was less focused than he. Weeks would go by where she'd settle into a routine at her garage, boosting speeders and fixing droids like nothing was wrong in the galaxy.

The thought made her eyes soften, but they widened again at his quip. With a playful jab to his ribs, he'd pulled her back into a lighter headspace. "Wrinkles! Like I'm ever going to get…"

He'd seen her skincare routine, even asked her what all of these identical-looking serums and creams cluttering their bathroom vanity were even for. It was the realization that he intended to be around that far into the future, that triggered a rare flush of heat to spread across her cheeks. Oh.

Why does that thought make me…happy?

Yula was not a woman who looked too far into the future, but this made her smile.

"Shut up."

Dagon Kaze